hofinghoff



(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

E. H. HOFINGHOPF. KEY BOARD FOR MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS.

No. 426,812. Patented Apr. 29, 1890.

(No Model.) 2 sheets sheet 2. E. H. HOPINGHOPP. KEY BOARD FOR MUSICALINSTRUMENTS. No. 426,812. Patented Apr. 29,1890.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

EMIL HUGO HGFINGHOFF, OF BARMEN, PRUSSIA, GERMANY.

KEYIQBOARDI FOR MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 426,812, dated April29, 1890.

A pplication filed December 29, 1887. Serial No. 259,340. (No model.)Patented in Germany March 11, 1887, No. 42,566; in

England December 3, 1887, No. 16,640, and in Belgium December 14,1887,1T0. 79,918.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, EMIL HUGO l'loFING- HOFF, a subject of His Majestythe Emperor of Germany, residing at Barmen, in the Province of RhenishPrussia, Germany, have invented new and useful Improvements in Key-Boards for Musical Instruments, (for which I have obtained patents inGermany, No. 42,566, bearing date March 11, 1887; in England, No.16,640, bearing date December 3, 1887, and in Belgium, No. 79,918,bearing date December 14-, 1887,) of which the following is aspecification.

My invention consists of a new arrangement of the keys ofkey-instruments, such as pianos, harmoniums, cottage-organs,churchorgans, and similar instruments.

The chief advantage which my new keyboard offers to the player is thatan average hand can strike on it one octave more than on the key-boardhitherto in use. To give an instance I may say that a hand which canstrike on the ordinary key-board the contra O and the great D at thesame time is able to strike on my new key-board the contra C and thesmall D simultaneously. From this it'appears that on my new keyboardcompositions can be played which it would be impossible to execute onthe ordinary key-board. There are, besides, a great many combinations oftones in existing compositions which offer great difiiculties to theperformer playing on the ordinary key-board, and which are easily playedif the player performs them on an instrument with my keyboard.

Hitherto it was impossible to perform compositions composed for organwith organpedal on instruments having no organ-pedal. Most of thesecompositions can be performed on my new key-board. I attain this objectby arranging the keys of my new key-board as illustrated in theaccompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a Vertical sectional viewof the new key-board for a piano-forte. Fig. 2 is a vertical sectionalView of the new key-board for a harmonium. Fig. 3 is a plan of my newkey-board having the prolongations of the lower keys bent in an obtuseangle to the right. Fig. 3 is a plan of my new key-board having theprolongations of both sets of keys in an obtuse angle, one set to theright and the other set to the left, so that the prolongations of thecorresponding keys run in converging lines and meet at the point wherethey act upon the inner mechanism of the instruments, be it for strings,valves, stops, &c., of pianos, harmoniums, or organs, respectively. Fig.et is a perspective view of a part of my new key-board.

My new arrangement of keys consists of two sets of keys U U and L L indiatonic or der placed one immediately behind the other, the back orupper one U U being placed only so much higher than the front or lowerone L L that both of them form together but one uninterrupted key-boardand that the keys of both can be struck conveniently by one hand at thesame time, for the purpose of which the white keys of the upper set andthe se1ni-tones of the lower set are made shorter than usual. In this mynew keyboard diifers materially from the two manuals of an organ,onwhich it would be impossible, for instance, tostrike thewhite keys ofthe lower manual and semi-tones (black keys) of the upper manualsimultaneously and conveniently by the same hand, and on which it wouldbe impossible to play compositions like those composed especially for mykey-board.

This new key-board has two keys for each tone of the instrument-2'. e.,one key in the front set and one key in the back set of keys. The keysare arranged in such amanner that the keys of the back set give a tonesounding just one octave higher (or deeper) than the tone brought tosound by touching the key lying in a straight line before thecorresponding key of the back set of keys. This is obtained by bendingthe inner prolongations of the keys either of the lower or of the upperset M or N, respectively, oscillating on the pins 0 and 1, respectively,in such a way, either to the right or left side, that the prolongationsof the keys of the lower set do not run parallel with the prolongationsof the keys of the upper set, but that the prolongation of each key ofthe upper set brings in action the same hammer (piano-forte) or the samemechanism for opening the valves (harmonium) which is connected withthat key of the lower set that lies an octave higher up or lower down.

My invention does in no way relate to the inner mechanism ofkey-instruments, whether they be Wind-instruments with pipes or tonguesand valves, or string-instruments acting by hammers and strings, and Imake no claim on any arrangement of this inner mechanism, which, as amatter of course, in every case, is prescribed by the nature andconstruction of the instrument.

My invention consists solely in the new arrangement of the double set ofkeys forming but one uninterrupted key-board, by means of which it ispossible to strike with one hand over two octaves and to play anunlimited number of accords and combinations of tones between thisreach, which it was hitherto impossible to perform on the instrumentswith the ordinary arrangement of keys.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim, and desire tosecure by Letters Pat-en t, is-

A key-board composed of two sets of keys of the usual diatonic system UU and L L, of which the upper set U U is placed immediately behind thelower set L L and only so much higher that both sets form but oneuninterrupted key-board having for each tone two keysviz., one in thelower and one in the upper set arranged in such a manner that (a) eachkey of the lower set gives a tone sounding either one octave deeper orone octave higher than the tone produced by striking that key of theupper set which lies in the direct prolongation of it, and that (b) thewhite keys of the lower set and the semitones (black keys) of the upperset can be struck conveniently by one hand simultaneously.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my invention I have signed myname in presence of two witnesses.

EMIL HUGO HOFINGl-IOFF.

WVitnesses:

R013. SoHMrrz, J 1'., C. BoNsEL.

